Your education questions answered by Education Correspondent Kathryn Holmquist

Our son has just finished his first month in secondary school, and is not settling. This is due to a problem that arose at the end of sixth class with a group of boys that he had been friends with through primary school. One boy in particular, my son's closest friend, turned on him shortly after last Easter, and when our son tried to defend himself this boy made sure that he was isolated from the group. By "turned" I mean name-calling, mocking, and eventually, physically hurting him.

My husband and I have spoken to the boy's parents, who did try to solve the problem, but it hasn't worked long-term. They acknowledged that their son thinks he's "a big man". He speaks to my son at some break times and won't speak to him at other times. Two of the other boys in the group do the same, and it is starting to make my son very miserable.

Should we place our son in a different school?

Too often, it's the bullying victim who is punished by having to leave a school. Speaking directly to the parents of a bully can sometimes ease the situation, but you have tried this and it hasn't worked. You need to speak with your son's form teacher about this, in your son's presence. Such difficulties could affect your son's schoolwork and it is the school's responsibility to provide a safe physical and emotional environment for its students.

Your son may react negatively to the idea of talking with a teacher, so you need to explain that this is the only way to solve the problem.

Secondary schools should have a range of activities, outside academic work, which help students to mix and form new friendships. It could be that while your son is determined to be friends with this group from sixth class, he needs to move away from them and find new friends who appreciate him for who he is. It's all part of the growing-up process.

Changing schools is a drastic measure and unnecessary unless you have completely lost faith in the school's ability to ensure decent behaviour amongst its students.

I've decided to repeat my Leaving Cert. What subjects should I sit, and how many?

To maximise your points, you should sit six subjects. If, in your last Leaving Certificate, you met the core matriculation requirements for the third-level course you want to take, then you will not need to do any of these subjects again.

You should choose the six subjects that you can get the highest points in, whether or not you did them last time out.

Remember that an A in home economics carries the same weight - and the same number of points - as an A in physics.

However, be sure to check the matriculation requirements for your chosen third-level courses. The institution in which you are repeating your Leaving Certificate should be giving you sound advice on this topic.

e-mail your questions to kholmquist@irish-times.ie